Creamy Chicken Bacon Penne (Printer-friendly)

Rich pasta dish with tender chicken, crispy bacon, and silky garlic-Parmesan cream sauce. Easy Italian-American comfort food.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 12 oz penne pasta

→ Meats

02 - 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 14 oz), thinly sliced
03 - 5 oz bacon, chopped

→ Dairy

04 - 1 cup heavy cream
05 - 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
06 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

→ Vegetables & Aromatics

07 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
08 - 1 small onion, finely diced
09 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus extra for garnish

→ Pantry & Seasonings

10 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
11 - 1 tablespoon olive oil

# Directions:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook penne according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain and set aside.
02 - Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped bacon and cook until crispy, approximately 5-6 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat from the pan.
03 - Season chicken slices with salt and pepper. Add olive oil to the skillet and cook chicken until golden and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. Remove and set aside.
04 - In the same skillet, melt butter. Add diced onion and cook until translucent, approximately 2-3 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
05 - Pour in heavy cream, scraping up any browned bits from the pan bottom. Bring to a gentle simmer, then stir in Parmesan cheese until melted and sauce thickens. Add reserved pasta water as needed to achieve desired consistency.
06 - Return cooked chicken and bacon to the skillet. Stir in chopped parsley. Add drained penne and toss thoroughly to coat with sauce.
07 - Adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, garnished with extra Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley if desired.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It tastes like something you'd order at a restaurant but comes together in less time than delivery would take.
  • The bacon fat adds a smoky depth that makes the cream sauce taste like you've been simmering it for hours.
  • It's the kind of comfort food that works for a quiet Tuesday or when you need to impress someone without breaking a sweat.
  • Leftovers reheat beautifully, and somehow taste even better the next day when the flavors have melded.
02 -
  • Reserve that pasta water before you drain, I forgot once and had to add plain water, which made the sauce watery and sad instead of silky.
  • Don't overcrowd the chicken in the pan or it'll steam instead of sear, if your skillet isn't big enough, cook it in two batches.
  • Add the garlic after the onion, not at the same time, garlic burns fast and turns bitter if it sits in the hot pan too long.
  • Let the cream come to a gentle simmer before adding the Parmesan, if it's too hot the cheese can seize and turn grainy.
03 -
  • Use the same skillet for everything, the layers of flavor you build from bacon to chicken to cream are what make this dish taste expensive.
  • If your sauce breaks or looks greasy, whisk in a spoonful of pasta water off the heat, it'll emulsify and come back together.
  • Taste the dish before you add extra salt, the bacon and Parmesan are already salty and it's easy to overdo it.
  • Slice the chicken thin and against the grain, it cooks faster and stays tender instead of turning chewy.
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